Isle Of Man, Jun 01: Adrian Archibald has won his first Isle of Man motorcycling Formula one TT race and paid tribute to teammate David Jefferies, who died in an accident in practice earlier in the week. Northern Ireland`s Adrian Archibald led his Suzuki to a convincing victory in the Island of Man Formula one TT race on Saturday (May 31) , finishing more than a minute ahead of his nearest rival Ian Lougher. The race start was delayed by one hour as thick mist on the mountain reduced visibility for the riders.
Archibald, 33, took the lead early on and never looked back in the six-lap long gruelling road based endurance race, clocking the winning time of 50 minutes 15.7 seconds. Lougher, also from North Ireland, riding a Honda, finished second in 51 minutes 30.5 seconds, almost one minute and 15 seconds behind Archibald.


The 44-strong field included entries from Germany, Australia, France, Japan, New Zealand and the United States, Norway and Luxembourg. But none of them could challenge the local riders, who dominated the event.


John McGuinness, from Lancashire, England, claimed third place on a Monster Mob Ducati, almost two minutes and 20 seconds slower than the winner.

As he got off his Suzuki GSX-R1000 superbike, Archibald dedicated his victory to TAS teammate David Jefferies, who tragically died following a high-speed crash during practice on Thursday (May 31).

"Yes, it is my first TT one -- it wasn`t an easy race after what happened this week but as I said, my whole team and myself pulled together and got the result in the end," he said.


Archibald will be back on track on Monday (June 2), competing in the Production 1000cc TT class.


Race Result: 1. Adrian Archibald 1h50m15.7s 123.18mph, 2. Ian Lougher 1h51m30.5s - 121.80mph, 3. John McGuinness 1h52m35.5s - 120.63mph

Bureau Report